Harmful traditional practice

1. UNIT V: HARMFUL TRADITIONAL PRACTICE
INTRODUCTION: These are tradition’s norms of some societies that are hazardous to the
health of the person exposed like wise the community to which the person belongs. These
practice are deeply rooted in ancient traditional ,cultural and religious rituals passed down
from one generation to another. Many of them have negative effects on the physical,
psychological and social well being of the person affected. It varies from one community
to the other. It includes:
1. Female genital mutilation
2. Early marriage
3. Hot birth
4. Maltreatment of widow
5. Food taboos
6. Male child preference/gender in equality
7. Local treatment of certain disease conditions
8. Gishiri cut
9. Teen marriage
10.Wife battering and child abuse
11.Wife inheritance
12.Sex tourism
13.Tribal marks and inheritance
14.Commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking
FEMALEGENITALCUTTING/MUTULATION (FGC/FGM)
It comprises all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female
genitalia(external) or other injury to the female genital organs whethr for cultural or any
other non therapy reason. It should be noted that any form of female genital cutting is
damaging to a woman’s body , this practice is INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED AS A
VIOLATION TO OF HUMAN RIGHT.
CLASSIFICATIONS OF FEMALE GENITAL CUTING
TYPE 1: Excision of the prepuce(the clitoral hood) with or without excision of part or all of
clitoris. It is practiced across Nigeria and is often referred as SUNNA
TYPE 2: Excision of the prepuce and clitoris together with partial or total excision of the
labia minora (clitoridectomy). This is commonly practice in in some parts of Africa, Asia,
Middle East and the peninsula
TYPE 3: Excision of part or all of external genitalia,(clitoris, labia majora and minora) and
suturing of the incised labia majora together leaving a tiny passage for urine and menstural
flow. It is called infibulation.
TYPE 4: This include pricking,piercing or incision of the clitoris amd or labia minora;
stretching of the clitoris;cauterization by burning the clitoris and surrounding tissue;
scrapping of the vaginal orifice or cutting of the vagina(Gishiri cut)

2. Others include introduction of corrosive substances or herbs in to the vagina with the
intention of causing bleeding or tightening the vaginal orifice.
TRADITIONA INDICATIONS/REASONS FOR FGC
1. As a right of passage in to womanhood
2. First time during pregnancy
3. To keep woman clean and cutil promiscuity
4. To prevent instant death of baby, peradventure the baby’s head touches the clitoris
during labour
5. Preservation of virginity/chastity
6. Customs and tradition
7. Social acceptance for marriage
8. To increase male sexual pleasure
9. To attenuate sexual desire in females
10. For aesthetic reasons
COMPLICATIONS/CONSEQUENCES OF FGC/M
IMMEDIATE
1. Dyspareunia
2. Infection of the genito urinary tract
3. Persistant pain during & after procedure
4. Severe bleeding
5. Shock
6. Acute septicaemia
7. Urine retention
8. Prolonged/obstructed labour
9. Genital laceration during labour
10.Death
MORBID/LONG TERM
1. PID
2. Recurrent urinary tract infections
3. Keloid formation
4. Recurrent abscess
5. Infertility
6. Loss of libido
7. VVF Or RVF
8. Withdrawal/depression, fragidity
9. Psycho sexual and social consequences.

3. TEENAGE MARRIAGE OR CHILD MARRIAGE
“Child marriage” is generally understood to mean marriages that take place before age 18 it
may be to male or female child, but for many girls, marriage occurs much earlier. In some
countries, girls as young as 7 or 8 are forced by their families to marry much older men.
REASONS
The reasons girls are married are diverse, teenage pregnancy, culture, love, religion, peer
pressure, and parents sometimes believe that through marriage they are protecting their
daughters and increasing their economic opportunities.
PROBLEMS OF CHILD MARRIAGE
However, child marriage exposes girls to increased health problems and violence, denies
them access to social networks and support systems, and perpetuates a cycle of poverty
and gender inequality,teen pregnancy, divorce, stigma, commercial sex working,
depression.
Where Does Child Marriage Occur?
Child marriage occurs in every region of the world, and is practiced across cultures,
religions, and ethnicities. The highest rates of child marriage by country are observed in
Sub-Saharan Africa, in countries such as Niger, the Central African Republic, and Chad.
However, the largest number of child brides live in South Asia, where 46 percent of girls are
married before the age of 18. Incidents of child marriage have been shown to increase as
instability increases, making girls living in conflict or crisis settings particularly vulnerable to
the practice
The Facts:
 According to the UN, 37,000 girls under the age of 18 are married each day. We
now have the greatest number of married girls and girls at-risk of child marriage than
ever before
 1 in 3 girls in the developing world are married before 18; 1 in 9 are married before
the age of 15
 If present trends continue, more than 140 million girls will be married before the
age of 18 in the next decade
 Globally, almost 400 million women now aged 20-49 were married before the age
of 18
Consequences of Child Marriage:
 Child marriage effectively ends a girl’s childhood, curtails her education, minimizes
her economic opportunities, increases her risk of domestic violence, and puts her at
risk for early, frequent, and very high-risk pregnancies
 Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s
and face higher risk of pregnancy-related injuries, such as obstetric fistula
 Child brides are often unable to negotiate safer sexual practices and are therefore at
a higher risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections

4.  The negative consequences of child marriage reach beyond the girls themselves:
children of child brides are 60 percent more likely to die in the first year of life
than those born to mothers older than 19, and families of child brides are more likely
to be poor and unhealthy
.
GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
Gender-based violence (GBV) is violence that is directed at an individual based on his or
her biological sex OR gender identity. It includes physical, sexual, verbal, emotional, and
psychological abuse, threats, coercion, and economic or educational deprivation, whether
occurring in public or private life.
Gender-based violence is an issue faced by people all over the world. Women are
disproportionately harmed by gender-based violence. EFFECT/CONSEQUENCES OF
GBV
GBV can impact anyone regardless of their geographical location, socio-economic
background, race, religion, sexuality, or gender identity. While women and girls are the
most at risk and the most affected by gender-based violence, boys, men, and sexual and
gender minorities also experience gender-based violence. GBV can have serious physical,
mental, economic, and social repercussions. For example. sexualized violence can lead to
unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and STI transmission, as well as isolation and
depression. It can also prevent survivors from achieving economic prosperity because of
stigma or physical and psychological trauma caused by the violence.
The prevalence of gender-based violence worldwide is largely due to systemic gender
inequality that disempowers women, girls, and other minorities, and stifles their voices so
that their stories are not heard and their natural human rights can be more easily taken
away. The cycle of violence is further perpetuated by lack of justice, a dearth of available
resources, or lack of economic opportunities which leads to the survivor being dependent
on the abuser. For example, in the United States only six percent of rapists are likely to
face incarceration and perpetrators of honor-killing around the world are rarely persecuted.
This allows violent groups and individuals to continue abusing their power without fear of
repercussions.
MALE CHILD PREFERENCE
Is a the pervasive, prevalence of sexism where allocation of prestige, power and resources
depends on the physical characteristics of sex
REASONS FOR THE PREFERANCE
1. Preserve family name
2. Carries out ceremony for the deceases parents
3. Inherit land/tittle/status
4. Serves as potential soldier,hero,protectorto the family

5. CONSEQUENCES TO THE MOTHER
1. Malnutrition risk
2. Risk of hypertension
3. Socio economic problem
4.
5. Psychosocial problem
SCARIFICATIONS/MARKS
Scarification, also known as cicatrisation, is a permanent body modification that transforms
the texture and appearance of the surface of the skin (dermis). Although scarification
operates as a controlled injury, it is not the result of an accident or health-related surgery.
Branding, cutting, and some tattoo practices are types of scarification. In the practice of
scarification the dermis and epidermis of the skin are cut, burned (see Branding),
scratched, removed, or chemically altered according to the desired designs, symbols, or
patterns. The result is a wound, which when healed creates raised scars or keloids that are
formed on the skin's surface from increased amounts of collagen. Persons with darker skin
tones have typically chosen scarification designs, because scars and keloids are more
visible than tattoos.
The significance of the scarification process and resulting scars varies from culture to
culture. Historically, scarification has been practiced in Africa, Australia, Papua New
Guinea, South America, Central America, and North America. Among the cultural groups in
these areas scarification has been used to emphasize the permanency of social and
political roles; ritual and cultural values; rites of passage and age-grades; eroticizing the
body; promoting sexual attraction and enhancing sexual pleasure; group and cultural
identity; spiritual relationships; and aesthetic values. It has also been used as part of
medicinal and healing rituals, as well as demonstrating the ability to endure pain. As a
result of changing cultures and globalization, most of these scarification practices have
been outlawed or banned by local governments.
Contemporary Scarification
In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, Western microcultures, such as the modern
primitives and punks, as well as fraternities and sororities, practice scarification.
Scarification among these cultural groups varies in significance, such as group identity,
personal identity, rite of passage, spiritual belief, and connection to tribal cultures. These
microcultures utilize a variety of methods of scarification, such as cutting, packing, ink
rubbings, skinning, abrasion, and chemical agents to acquire desired scarification patterns
or designs.
Cutting
Cutting is a form of scarification that involves cutting the surface of the skin with a sharp
instrument, such as a sharpened bone, small medical scalpel, or razor blade, called a
scarifier. Contemporary cutting tools may be either single-piece disposable units or blades
that can be mounted on an assortment of handles. Cuts are about one-sixteenth of an inch
deep; deeper cuts increase the amount of scarring and the chances of complications, while
shallow cuts may heal without scarring, negating the purpose of the modification.

6. Emphasizing Scars
Scarification created with scalpel and cauterizer
Maintaining an open wound by repeatedly recutting the healing skin will result in a more
pronounced scar; it will also delay the healing process and may result in serious health-
related complications. Packing also creates more pronounced scars by introducing inert
substances, such as ashes or clay, into the open incisions or lifting cut areas of skin and
allowing the scars to heal around or over it. While cicatrisation can refer to any scar, it is
usually used in connection with more pronounced scars resulting from packing.
Ink rubbing is a cutting in which indelible tattoo ink or other pigment is rubbed into a fresh
cut. The ink remains in the cut as it heals, resulting in a colored scar. Although the intensity
varies from person to person, this method creates more visible scars for lighter skin tones.
Skinning
Skinning is a common method used to create large areas of scarification. An outline of the
designated area to be scarred is cut. Then the scarifier or a lifting tool is placed under the
surface of the skin to lift and remove it in manageable sections. An alternative skinning
method, to increase the scarring, is to pack inert materials under the lifted skin and allow it
to heal. The healing process is lengthy and complications may occur. This method creates
large and more precise scarification areas.
Abrasion Scarification
Abrasion scarification is achieved by using friction to remove the dermis layers of skin to
create scarring. Power tools equipped with sandpaper, steel wool, or grinding stones are a

7. few of the instruments employed to create abrasion scarification. Abrasion scar-ification
can also be achieved with manual pressure, but power tools expedite the process. This
method creates subtle scars, unless excessive pressure is applied with the abrasion
scarifier.
Chemical Scarification
Chemical scarification uses chemical compounds, such as liquid nitrogen, to damage and
burn the skin, which results in scarring. Intricate designs are difficult to achieve with liquid
chemical agents, otherwise the results are similar to other types of scarification. This
method is relatively new and there is little research on it.
Scarification Risks
As with most permanent body modifications, scarification has been associated with
aesthetic and health-related risks. The resulting appearances of the scars vary, because
there are so many variables in the healing process. Scarification may take a year to
completely heal, and longer if skinning or packing is involved. During the initial healing
process diligent care is necessary in order to avoid infections.
Additional health-related risks include improper technique, such as cutting too deep, or
acquiring blood-borne infections such as hepatitis B and C. Appropriate measures should
be taken by scarification practitioners to assure the health and safety of their clients.
Equipment and instruments that will be used for more than one client are sterilized in an
autoclave, a high temperature steamer that kills blood-borne pathogens and bacterial
agents. The area of skin to be scarred is disinfected and prepared by the scarification
practitioner. During the scarification process, the skin is continually cleaned of excess blood
and is disinfected.
TRADITIONAL PRACTICE (PHC)
FOOD TABOO
DEFINITION: Food taboo is abstaining people from food and/or beverage consuming due
to ethno- religious and cultural reasons. It can be permanent or temporal. Permanent food
taboos are avoiding food and/or drinks throughout their life, while some foods are avoided
for certain periods of time. These restrictions often apply to women and children and are
related to the reproduction and growth and development respectively.
Any country in the world has food taboo due to different factors like culture, norm, and
religion. The food taboo is also differing from place to place and time to time Pregnant
women have faced dietary deficiency due to food taboo.
Some pregnant women, who live in rural area, are obliged to have food taboo that
restrain calorie and specific nutrients although in the real scenario pregnancy requires more
calorie, some food items are considered to be good or bad by the community during
pregnancy. Food taboos among pregnant women are varying from culture to culture and
community to community especially in rural settings for instance in some societies pregnant
women do not eat snail which is a source of proteineous food, some don’t eat okro soup
because they believed that the unborned child will be drooling.

8. Like wise, some cultures prohibits eating egg in children as they believed that if a child
will become thief and some believed that the child will have difficulty/ delay in speaking.
Again, some believed that if a woman is beast feeding and become pregnant she should
wean that baby no matter how old the child is because they believed that the child will suck
bad breast milk which will make him/her stunted.
IMPLICATIONS TO THE INDIVIDUALS, FAMILY AND SOCIETY.
1. It exposes/causes under nutrition and deficiency of various nutrients in the body of
the affected person/child e.g Aneamia, PEM
2. It causes disease conditions or increase susceptibility
3. Causes low birth weight
4. Increases the chances of high risk pregnancy
5. Increases maternal and child mortality nd morbidity rate
6. Decreases socioeconomic well being of the concern society.
ASSIGNMENT
Find 10 food taboos around the world and its reason.
POSTPARTUM HOT BATH (WANKAN JEGO)AND POTASSIUM PAP
Postpartum period is an important and interesting period in the life of the nursing mothers.
It is a period in a woman's life characterized by the return of pelvic organs to pre-gravid
state, reversal of metabolic change of pregnancy and establishment of lactation, a period of
life-style modification and psychological adjustment from pregnancy, a period of exclusive
breastfeeding, a period of emotional support by their relations and friends, a time to eat and
merry for God's blessings and finally, a period of depression and altered self image.
Among the Hausa-Fulani women of Zaria, Nigeria, "cold" or "sanyi" is thought to be a
common cause of illnesses, and especially edema (swelling) during pregnancy. The
traditional treatment for these illnesses is a hot bath. The new mother or mother-to-be
sleeps in an overheated room and must take baths in very hot water, called "wankan- jego,"
to keep out the cold. The birth attendant uses a bundle of leafy twigs from tamarind or
neem trees to splash hot water over the women's body. This splashing hides the real
temperature of the hot water over the women's body. This splashing hides the real
temperature of the hot water so that she does not feel it, but it may actually be 82 degrees
centigrade.
IMPLICATIONS OF POSTPARTUM HOT BIRTH
Severe scalds often result from, such baths. Women confined during childbirth in the
hospital and then discharged are still often subjected to the "wakan-jego" after they return
home. Their thighs, buttocks and breasts are the most susceptible areas where these hot-
water scald burns are the worst, sometimes even resulting in their nipples being sloughed
off, thus making the mother unable to lactate. Understanding this cultural ritual is necessary
to devise effective countermeasures, like encouraging hand testing the bath water for its
safety before commencing the baths. Better still, since most scalded patients in the were
illiterate housewives, formal education could disprove the need for these traditional and

9. harmful hot baths to chase away the "cold" that has been falsely believed to be the cause
of childbirth illnesses.
POTASSIUM PAP
It is a kind of pap being made with high concentration of potassium and peppe it is usually
being practiced in African especially among Hausa- Fulanis. It is believed to aid in coming
or increasing flow of breast milk and in its purification.
Medically, it is found to increases water retention and causes rise in blood pressure which
if care is not taken it can lead to hypertensive heart disease.
SOME POSITIVE IMPACTS OF TRADITIONAL PRACTICE.
On the other hand, there are some traditional practice that are of health benefit to both the
mother, baby, father and the family and the society at large. For instances, there are
traditional practices where the mother is being given highly proteineous food during wankan
jego period and is being confirned to one place only to move about when necessary. This
will help her to have adequate rest and balanced diet which will facilitate involution and
production of breast milk.
Some cultures practice ‘goyon ciki’ which is an act of taking pregnant mother back to her
parents house till after some months after delivery(first pregnancy) this act is useful in
terms of family spacing, and taking care of the baby being it the first experience.
STRATEGIES FOR ELIMINATING HARMFUL CULTURAL/TRADITIONAL PRACTICES.
1. Awareness campaign at all levels on the immediate and long term consequences in
the communities, market and schools
2. Advocacy to all tiers of government, policy makers at local, state,national and inter
national levels
3. Making marriage registration compulsory
4. Development of appropriate IEC materials for specific target group s
5. Mobilisation and participation strategies to bring about positive change in altitude
6. Networking with women and youth at all levels of the health care system
7. Managing consequences according to the standard orders
8. Establishment of counselling services centres
9. Family health education
10.Inclusion of family health courses in curriculum of primary, secondary and tertiary
schools
11.Periodic organisation of seminars and workshop at all tiers of government.